In his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama spoke about our shared destiny as Americans. He gave voice to a belief that many of us hold, one that urges us to always remember: “I am my brother’s keeper. I am my sister’s keeper.”

This has been the principle behind Barack’s campaign, that we have a stake in each other’s lives. Our individual stories and the grand American story are not separate. They are one and the same.

Barack has lived by this principle since his days helping families build better futures on the South Side of Chicago. This month, this principle will be at the heart of the Democratic National Convention, as Barack accepts the party’s nomination for president of the United States.

Last year, 60 million Americans spent over 8 billion hours volunteering in their communities. Today, one in four Americans give their time and their talents to serving others. We’ve seen the power of volunteering firsthand in this campaign. Millions of people have worked the phones and pounded the pavement to get out the vote for Barack.

Service doesn’t run in only one direction. When you give to others, you get something back. As Barack said in Colorado Springs last month, “Loving your country means accepting your responsibility to do your part to change it. If you do, your life will be richer, and our country will be stronger.”

It is in that spirit of unity that the Democratic National Convention will launch “Delegate Service Day” on Aug. 27. With the help of Volunteers of America, Democrats Work and Metro Volunteers, delegates from across the country will volunteer with dozens of community service projects in and around Denver. Volunteers will tackle projects ranging from building houses for veterans, to assembling care packages for troops overseas, to bringing meals to home-bound seniors and cleaning up public parks.

We’re thrilled to be the co-chairs of this exciting effort. We know this day will have an incredible impact in the city that is generously hosting thousands of Democrats for our national convention. But we don’t want to stop with just one day of service. That’s why the Democratic National Convention Committee is proud to team up with ServiceNation, a new bipartisan coalition of more than 100 leading national organizations reaching more than 100 million Americans who want to make service a national priority.

The coalition is also working with organizers of the Republican National Convention. On Sept. 27, ServiceNation will launch its own National Day of Action based on the work its members did at both conventions, with actions taking part across the nation.

We’ve both seen the impact that only service can achieve. Whether by working to increase resources for mental health in Colorado or preparing young people for careers in public service in Chicago, we’ve each witnessed the ripples of change that begin by serving others.

Our nation is built on a history of service, written by generations of soldiers and sailors, suffragists and freedom riders, teachers and doctors, police officers and firefighters. Their lesson to us is simple but profound: In America, each of us is free to seek our own dreams, but we must also serve a common and higher purpose.

We hope that the work of the Democratic delegates in Denver will encourage more Americans to get involved with volunteering in their own communities. At this moment in our nation’s history, change can’t just happen in state houses or even the White House. It must come from the bottom up.

So no matter your political beliefs or party affiliation, we hope from Aug. 28 to Sept. 27, you will take part in public service and carry that commitment forward. Because the future of America rests on how well we recognize that we are in this together . . . that we are writing a shared story . . . that we are all each other’s keepers.

Michelle Obama is the wife of the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Barack Obama. Jeannie Ritter is the wife of Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter.

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